Refugees and Migrants

Immigrant Rights in Canada

Regardless of their status in a country, both regular and irregular migrants have human rights, including the right to freedom from slavery and servitude, freedom from arbitrary detention, freedom from exploitation and forced labour, the right to freedom of assembly, the right to education for their children, equal access to courts and rights at work.

Right now, record numbers of people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes. But instead of protecting refugees, out of fear and prejudice, many of the wealthiest nations are slamming their doors shut and leaving a handful of countries to cope alone. Effective protection for refugees requires international cooperation.

Current Campaigns

Canada New Border Bill Attacks Human Right to seek safety

Every person has the right to seek safety. But a new bill before Parliament—Bill C-2, misleadingly called the “Strong Borders Act”—threatens that right and could endanger people who are simply looking for a safe place to live. Seeking asylum is a human right, not a crime. Together, we must stand up for compassion, due process, and the right to safety. Join us in urging the Government of Canada to withdraw Bill C-2 and defend people’s right to seek protection and safety.

Tell President Trump No Mass Deportations!

Within hours of his inauguration on January 20, 2025, US President Donald Trump declared an emergency at the southern border, suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program, and reiterated a plan for mass deportations of people seeking safety. As of 2024, there are approximately 13 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and millions more living under temporary statuses that President Trump has promised to terminate. Sign the petition urging President Trump to respect the human rights of immigrants and people seeking safety and abandon his mass deportation campaign.

3 men working on a farm in a field collecting crops

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

The design of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) exposes labourers from the Global South to shocking abuse and discrimination, Amnesty International charges in a new report. ‘Canada has destroyed me’: Labour exploitation of migrant workers in Canada criticizes the structure of the TFWP, which allows employers to hire migrant workers, primarily for low-paid jobs, across various sectors, including agriculture, food processing, the care system, construction and hospitality. TFWP work permits tie workers to a single employer who controls both their migration status and labour conditions.

American flags fly over electric signs at the Canada.-U.S. border

Safe Third Country Agreement

The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States puts refugees at risk. Because of this agreement, Canada turns away most refugees who show up at the border seeking safety and sends them back to the United States. In the United States, people face arbitrary detention and are at risk of being deported to their country of origin, even if they would face persecution or torture. We know refugees will continue to be harmed while awaiting yet another court decision, which is why we are calling on the government to withdraw from the Safe Third Country Agreement now.

IMMIGRATION DETENTION

Canada incarcerates thousands of people on administrative immigration-related grounds every year, including people who are fleeing persecution, those seeking employment and a better life, and people who have lived in Canada since childhood. People in immigration detention are subjected to solitary confinement, indefinite detention, maximum security jails, and handcuffs and shackles. Please join us in calling on the government to permanently end the use of jails and prisons for immigration detention by passing a policy directive or legislative amendment, and ultimately end immigration detention in Canada.

World Refugee Day 2025

Every single minute of every day, 20 people around the world make one of the most difficult decisions of their lives. They leave their homes to escape war, persecution or fear in search of a safer, better life. World Refugee Day 2025 on June 20 is a day to honour the people who make that difficult choice.

At the end of 2024, 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes or were stateless. They fled because of persecution, war, violence, and human rights violations. This is an increase of 7 million people or 6 per cent compared to the previous year, propelled by war in Ukraine, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and other deadly conflicts.

Each year, one in every 67 people is forced to flee their home. World Refugee Day 2025 honours those who make this perilous journey.

Record-breaking year of forced displacement

Individuals forcibly displaced

0 M

refugees

0 M

Refugees under UNHCR's Mandate

0 M

Refugees were females

0 %

By the end of 2015, 65.3 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide (including refugees and internally displaced people) as a result of conflict, persecution, generalized violence and human rights violations. The number of refugees increased to 21.3 million, of which 16.1 million are under UNHCR’s mandate. Available data shows that women and girls made up approximately 49 percent of the refugee population in 2014.

The international community’s response is grossly inadequate

of the world's refugees in developing regions

0 %

Refugees hosted by LDCs

0 M

Global Resettlement needs being met

0 %

Countries offering resettlement places

Wealthy states and the international community as a whole have failed to equitably share responsibility for managing the ongoing global refugee crisis. Currently, such responsibility lies disproportionately with poorer countries: 86 percent of the world’s refugees are in developing regions and in 2015 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) were hosting 4.2 million refugees or 26 percent of the global total. UNHCR estimates global resettlement needs to be over 1.19 million, yet global resettlement commitments are just over 100,000 per year, with only 30 countries offering resettlement places. Moreover, wealthier countries are not doing nearly enough to share the financial burden of the global refugee crisis, with humanitarian appeals for refugees consistently – and often severely – underfunded.

Refugees continue to risk their lives to seek international protection

Refugees and asylum-seekers are forced to contend with dangerous sea and land crossings, increased border closures, pushbacks, abuses, extortion and violence by law enforcement officials, criminal gangs, smugglers and human traffickers. During transit, women and girls are at high risk of sexual and gender-based violence. In transit from Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) countries towards Mexico and the United States, women and girls are at significant risk of sexual violence – 60% are raped on the route – and of sexual exploitation and other forms of violence.

A security-driven response rather than a human rights-based response

Globally, states continued to prioritize deterrence policies and measures to block the movement of refugees and asylum-seekers while putting the onus on states located in the immediate region of displacement or on its peripheries to assume responsibility for protection. An increased prioritization of security concerns over the human rights of refugees also led to a notable increase in obstacles faced by refugees and asylum-seekers to seek and enjoy protection.

Refugees & Migrants

Related Work

Human Rights News, Press Releases

Canada must withdraw from Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States

February 4, 2025

Features, Press Releases

Temporary Foreign Workers Report

January 30, 2025

Human Rights News

USA: States throughout the Americas must not play a part in President Trump’s harmful policies against people seeking safety

January 29, 2025

Urgent Actions

USA: People seeking safety are at risk

January 21, 2025

Human Rights News

Joint letter: Urgent changes needed to Canada’s Temporary Residence Visa Program for Gazans

November 19, 2024

Human Rights News

Myanmar/Bangladesh: Rohingya community facing gravest threats since 2017

October 24, 2024

Take the opportunity for change. Help build better responses for refugees!

Amnesty International urges all states to equitably share responsibility for resettling refugees who meet UNHCR’s vulnerability criteria, expand safe and legal routes to protection, implement fair asylum systems, and prevent abuses against migrants and refugees seeking safety.

More Human Rights Issues

Mass Surveillance, Security & Human Rights

Climate Justice

Dealth Penalty

Women's Rights & Gender Justice

Arms Trade

2SLGBTQI+ Rights

Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Corporate Accountability

Health & Human Rights

For full details on Amnesty International’s human rights advocacy and research work in countries and regions around the world, please visit our global website.